4Grammar and explanations
Until: –тал
To say that an action lasts until something else happens, put the verb of the end point in –тал. Like –нгаа and –магц, it is a converb: it hangs on the main verb and never ends the sentence.
Финал дуустал би явахгүй.final end-CONV I go-NEG"I'm not leaving until the final is over."
Харанхуй болтол үргэлжилж болно.dark become-CONV continue-CONV may"It may go on until dark."
Four forms
The suffix goes straight onto the stem, and its vowel follows harmony:
| Stem | Vowel | "until…" |
|---|
| дуус- (end) | а, у | дуустал |
| бол- (become) | о | болтол |
| ир- (come) | э, и | иртэл |
| сөө- (go hoarse) | ө | сөөтөл |
So ял- gives ялтал (until he wins) and жарга- gives жаргатал: нар жаргатал, "until the sun sets".
Its own subject
The "until" clause often has a subject of its own. A noun just stands in front: нар жаргатал, финал дуустал. A person, especially a pronoun, often goes in the accusative:
Намайг иртэл энд хүлээж байгаарай.me-ACC come-CONV here wait-CONV be-IMP"Wait here until I come back."
Бид нар жаргатал суусан.we sun set-CONV sit-PAST"We sat there until sunset."
хүртэл: the same ending, frozen
хүртэл is simply хүр- (to reach) with this ending: "until reaching". It has become a word of its own, used after a noun or after the –х form, and it means "until, up to, as far as":
орой хүртэлevening until"until the evening"
Сараа ирэх хүртэлSaraa come-PART until"until Saraa comes"
орой болтол and орой хүртэл say the same thing; the first is a little more lively.
A friendly goodbye
Орой болтол баяртай! means "Goodbye until this evening!", literally "goodbye until it becomes evening". Learn it as a whole: it is the most common place to hear –тал in everyday life.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian converbs · Time expressions
5Good to know
Mongolian wrestling has no weight classes, so a small wrestler may face a giant. A bout ends only when one of the two touches the ground with his back, elbow or knee, and a final between two strong champions can keep a whole stadium waiting until dark. The expression Limba uses, хоолой сөөтөл хашгирах, "to shout until one's voice is hoarse", is exactly what the crowd does.
